Notably, the timing of the auction coincides with the third and fourth days of the first Test between India and Australia in Perth.
Unlike the regular player auctions held annually, the mega auction is a grand event that occurs every three years, spanning two days instead of the usual single day. The ten IPL franchises strategise to build their squads for the upcoming three seasons from 2025 to 2027.
A remarkable total of 1,574 players have registered for the auction, comprising 1,165 Indian players and 409 overseas talents, said BCCI. This diverse pool of players includes participants from various countries, including Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Scotland, the USA, and the UAE, although Full Member nations excluding Pakistan are represented.
The auction will take place at the Abady Al Johar Arena, also known as the Benchmark Arena, and franchises will have the opportunity to fill a total of 204 available slots in their squads, with each team permitted to build a roster of up to 25 players.
On October 31, teams finalised their player retention decisions, with a total of 46 players retained across all ten franchises. The highest retention was made by Sunrisers Hyderabad, who kept wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen for a whopping Rs 23 crore.
Both Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Nicholas Pooran of Lucknow Super Giants were retained for Rs 21 crore each. Mumbai Indians notably retained their core Indian players, including Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, and Tilak Varma, totaling Rs 75 crore.
Each franchise has a total auction purse of INR 120 crore. However, following retention, Punjab Kings boast the largest remaining budget at Rs 110.5 crore, having retained only two uncapped players, Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh, for a total of Rs 9.5 crore. In contrast, Rajasthan Royals enter the auction with the smallest purse of Rs 41 crore after retaining the maximum of six players. Kolkata Knight Riders have a budget of Rs 51 crore.
For the mega auction, IPL teams are allowed to retain up to six players, which includes a maximum of five capped players and two uncapped players. Teams can choose to retain players outright or utilise the Right-to-Match (RTM) options during the auction. The RTM mechanism allows a franchise to buy back a player by matching the highest bid made by another franchise after the initial bidding process concludes.
Punjab Kings, having retained just two players, have the highest number of RTM options available at four. Royal Challengers Bangalore, with three retained players, will have three RTM options, while Delhi Capitals, who retained four players, will have two. Five franchises—Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Lucknow Super Giants—retained five players each and possess just one RTM option.
Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders, having retained six players, will not have any RTM options available during the auction.
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